Grant Hill is leaving Magic for Suns

Ex-Warriors coach counted on to guide young Sonics team

Grant Hill made seven NBA All-Star teams and won two college championships. He also has never been past the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Hungry for a title, Hill is leaving the Orlando Magic after seven injury-plagued years to join a perennial contender in the Phoenix Suns, his agent said Thursday.

The 34-year-old forward agreed to a two-year deal worth about $1.8 million for the first year, with a second-year player option for about $2 million, agent Lon Babby said.

"There's no question he could've gotten considerably more money elsewhere, but that was not the principle," Babby said. "I think the most important factor for him was the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to a team competing for the championship."

Hill was considering retirement or returning to Orlando for another season. His seven-year, $93 million contract finished this season, and the Magic has used it as a flash point for rebuilding.

That salary-cap room was earmarked for a free-agent scorer, and Orlando agreed to spend it on Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis, his agent said this week. Teams cannot discuss or complete deals until the signing period begins Wednesday. Citing those restrictions, the Magic and Suns declined comment Thursday.

Hill has played about only one-third of Orlando's 574 regular-season games, and made the All-Star team just once since leaving the Detroit Pistons.

Babby said about 15 teams courted Hill, and the forward narrowed that list to five.

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Babby declined to name the other teams Hill was considering.

In Phoenix, Hill will join a roster that includes two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and All-Star Amare Stoudemire.

"I think all he was seeking was the opportunity to start," Babby said. "It was the same promise that was made to him when he went to Duke. Nobody guarantees you anything, and he wasn't asking for guarantees."

The SuperSonics confirmed the hiring of P.J. Carlesimo as their coach.

It is Carlesimo's first head-coaching job since the 1999 season, when he was fired by the Warriors. Carlesimo spent the past five years as an assistant with San Antonio.

Carlesimo replaces Bob Hill, who was fired April 24 after Seattle went 31-51 in his only full season as coach.

"I wanted to be a head coach again, particularly the last couple of years I did start to feel it was going to happen," Carlesimo said. "But I didn't feel like it was owed me or I would be incomplete if it didn't happen again."

Carlesimo will be entrusted with the development of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, two of the first five picks from last week's draft, while also developing a current roster that has no player older than 30.

"One of the reasons P.J. is the guy is his ability to teach," General Manager Sam Presti said. "And I think we have a number of players on this team who want to get better, and want to be coached and have come from programs where they have been coached. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it's about improving your ballclub."